Media Dynamics preliminary estimates find that five broadcast TV networks took in $9.9 billion in primetime sales — up a modest 6.4% from the previous upfront — while the cable channels sold $10.2 billion, a 5.2% increase. In total, the “linear TV” upfront was up 5.8%, to $20.1 billion.
The almost completed traditional TV upfront witnessed strong average 19% gain in primetime broadcast CPM and 10% higher for cable TV nets for the upcoming 2021-22 TV season, according to Media Dynamics. But total upfront dollar volume this year — $19.04 billion for broadcast and cable TV networks — is still under the levels of 2019, down a collective 13%, according to the media consulting company.
Upfront TV advertising revenue witnessed a 5.2% increase for the 2018-2019 TV season — similar to the rise a year ago. Combined broadcast and cable networks deal-making saw upfront TV advertising grow 5.2% to just over $20.7 billion, according to Media Dynamics, a media consulting/publishing company.
TV’s upfront advertising market for primetime over-delivered — for both broadcast and cable networks — with 6% more revenue versus the year before, according to a new estimate. Total TV upfront ad revenues hit $19.7 billion — $10.6 billion for cable networks (up 7.6%) and $9.1 billion for broadcast networks (4.1% higher), according to Media Dynamics, a media consultancy.
Broadcast and cable networks’ advance ad sales for the upcoming TV season are expected to hit $18.6 billion, the best showing in three years, according to the consulting firm Media Dynamics.
It Really Wasn’t A Great Upfront For Anyone
Perhaps the most telling sign that this year’s upfront did not go all that well for media sellers: Even spending on cable, which has been seeing gangbuster gains since the recession ended, was down. A new report from Media Dynamics, a media consulting firm, finds that overall dollar volume for the 2014 upfront fell by 6.1% compared to last year, to $18.125 billion. That includes a drop of 4.7% for cable, which slid from $10.16 billion to $9.675 billion, its first drop in four years.
Exclusives
An explosion of marketers’ messaging from TV, radio and online platforms doesn’t necessarily mean they receive full — or even half of — consumers’ attention for those advertisements. Ed Papazian, president of Media Dynamics, says that 50% to 60% of the audience is only partially attentive when a commercial appears on the screen. Papazian says his estimates come from a number of third-party researchers, such as Simmons and MRI, as well as other studies.
Online Video Ads Out-Price TV Spots
For 2013, the average online video ad was about double the price of a national TV commercial — and in some cases even more than that for targeted online video.
